PETALING JAYA: Things looked to be on the up for national shuttler Leong Jun Hao after he overcame Indonesian Jonatan Christie at last month’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games team event.
It was the first time that Jun Hao, 27, managed to get the better of the then world No. 1 Jonatan, in their four meetings this year.
However, since that triumph in Japan, the world No. 31, who previously faced scrutiny over disciplinary issues, suffered consecutive opening round straight-game defeats to Japan’s Koki Watanabe.
The latest, a 15-21, 11-21 loss in the French Open at the Arena Grand Paris on Tuesday (Oct 20), came just a week after his exit at the Denmark Open and highlighted his ongoing struggles against the Japanese world No. 16.
“His performance was below expectations,” said national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen.
“He couldn’t keep up with the pace of play. He has to learn from these two defeats and come back stronger.”
Jonassen revealed that illness had disrupted Jun Hao’s preparation between tournaments, though he declined to use it as a primary excuse.
“Unfortunately, he fell ill for a couple of days. We did our best to get him back to peak condition, but it wasn’t enough.
“But that’s no excuse.''
Earlier this year, the Watanabe eliminated Jun Hao from the All England as well. Although their head-to-head record stands at 4-4, the Malaysian has not secured a victory over Watanabe since the Japan Masters two years ago.
The coach’s challenges extended to the women’s singles, where K. Letshanaa fell 21-23, 15-21 to Thailand’s sixth seed, Pornpawee Chochuwong.
The defeat marked the world No. 27’s ninth consecutive early exit from a major tournament. She last reached the quarter-finals in May at the Malaysian Masters.
